New Divide
by xXxWinglessAngelxXx
Summary: The Dark Forest is beaten, StarClan is ruling, and the clans are at peace. But what happens when Yellowfang gived Jayfeather a new Prophecy?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Prologue

"Why are we here?" a soft voice floated through the still night air, ringing out crystal clear in the moorland sky. A light gray tabby tom with clouded blue eyes stood crouched slightly on the crest of a slope, staring down at a tangle of brambles sheltering a gentle dip in the hill. Beside him was an old she-cat with matted gray fur that shone with stars and sharp yellow eyes that glinted with moonlight.

"We are here, Jayfeather," she began, sliding her paws along the scratchy grass, "because I have something to show you." With that, she rose to her paws and pelted down the slope with much more speed than is normal for a cat of her age. Stars sparked along the path she left and Jayfeather scrambled to his paws to follow her, heart pounding.

"Wait, Yellowfang!" he called desperately to the old cat as she plunged into the spiky brambles. He skidded to a clumsy halt and stared distrustfully at the brambles, wrinkling his nose as though he had smelled something foul. Yellowfang's narrow face poked out from the bushes, her eyes snapping with impatience.

"Come on!" she hissed, before tuning and disappearing again. Jayfeather gave a slight snort as he dove into the bushes, hissing as they clawed at his ears and muzzle. Once he had stumbled into the clearing, his face was lined with small scratches and a bramble thorn poked out of his nose, as he pawed repeatedly at it.

"Come here," Yellowfang called softly. Jayfeather walked slowly over to where she was crouched in the center of the small clearing, her tail whipping behind her. She was peering intently into a small puddle, and she was leaning in so close that her whiskers touched the water, stirring its crystalline surface.

"So?" Jayfeather grumbled, still rubbing his nose. "It's a puddle." As he spoke, he glanced warily around him, at the sleeping bodies of cats surrounding them. They were in the heart of WindClan's territory, in their camp. The WindClan cats slept out in the open, where they felt closer to their ancestors, StarClan. Not even two fox-lengths away from him, Jayfeather could see the striped tabby pelt of Onestar; WindClan's leader. The young tom's tail twitched back and forth, and his paws churned in the air, evidently he was dreaming.

Whiskers twitching with amusement, Jayfeather turned back to Yellowfang, who was now nodding slowly as she observed the puddle closer. She turned to Jayfeather, her eyes glimmering with wisdom.

"Jayfeather," she started, slowly, "when was the last time it rained?" Jayfeather froze, realizing what Yellowfang was trying to show him. The puddle, looking as though it had only sprung up overnight, was actually a quarter-moon old. The last rain was on the night before the Gathering, and a quarter-moon had passed since then.

"Why is it still here?" Jayfeather immediately crouched down next to Yellowfang, his tail flicking nervously as excitement and anxiety coursed through him, setting his pelt on end.

"Look closer," Jayfeather could hear and feel Yellowfang's breathe right next to his ear, but when he whipped his head around, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Yellowfang?" he called, trembling slightly while at the same time frowning with confusion. Where had she disappeared off to?

"Look closer!" Yellowfang's voice came again, sharper this time, and Jayfeather turned his attention back to the puddle, studying it closely for once. It shocked him.

It was perfectly in the shape of an eagle or other bird sustained in flight, its wings outstretched, and portrayed in the silvery water was the moon. A perfect, full moon, though it was waning in the sky currently. A beautiful full moon, depicted inside a bird. What could it mean?

Yellowfang's voice came again, except this time her raspy mew was smoothed out, and it seemed to echo from Jayfeather's head itself:

"_While the light strengthens and the darkness fades, from the ashes of death the Lost One will rise. The code shall fall and the world shall shatter as the shadows of the dead return once more."_

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**Time for a bit of a change-up! Warriors this time!**

**Read and Review, my lovlies!**

**~xoxo WinglessAngel**


	2. Mystery meetings and endless suspicions

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Chapter 1

"No, Cherrypaw, you have to roll away from my paws before you jump up again." Ivypool lifted her head from her paws and peered across the training hollow at the pair of mentor and apprentice as they practiced their battle moves. Cherrypaw flipped back onto her paws and shook out her ginger fur. Rosepetal sat back on her haunches, whisking her tail across the sandy ground.

"Can we try it again?" Cherrypaw panted as she stared up at her mentor with shining amber eyes. Ivypool sighed and turned her attention to the other side of the clearing, where Foxleap and Molepaw worked on the half-turn belly rake. Foxleap stood in front of his apprentice, lips drawn back in a snarl, ears pinned to his head. Molepaw, with a shriek, dove at him, paws outstretched, and swept past him. Once he reached Foxleap's haunches, he spun around like a snake and slid under his mentor's belly. He thrust upward with his hind paws, aiming for Foxleap's belly, but the russet tom leapt up into the air, out of the way. Molepaw flipped back onto his paws, eyes glimmering with excitement.

"Very good, Molepaw," Foxleap praised him, tail flicking behind him, chest puffed out with pride. "Did you see that, Rosepetal?" He called over to the dark cream she-cat, working his paws on the sun-baked sand. Rosepetal paused, crouching down in front of Cherrypaw, and shouted back,

"Stop boasting Foxleap, you-" She was cut off as Cherrypaw leapt at her and bowled her over, pinning her to the ground with trained paws.

"A warrior never turns her back to her enemy!" she crowed, her eyes shining. Ivypool raised herself from the rock she had been laying on and stretched, stretching her forepaws in front of her and pressing her chest to the ground.

"It doesn't look like the others are going to show up," she called to the mentors and apprentices as she leapt from her perch. "I'm heading back to camp." Foxleap glanced up at her.

"Alright," he called back. "The others were out hunting before, remember. They're probably worn out." Ivypool nodded, flicking her ears decisively.

"You're probably right," she responded, setting her paws on the path to camp. "I'll see you later!" she called over her shoulder.

"Then we can show you our new battle moves!" Molepaw yowled, squirming out from under Cherrypaw's grip. Ivypool shook her head amusedly as she padded deeper into the woods. Lilypaw, Seedpaw and their mentors, Hollyleaf and Icecloud, had been supposed to meet them in the sandy training hollow, for battle practice. Even if the Dark Forest had been beaten, there were still threats lurking in the shadows lining the forest.

Ivypool had already worried herself sick, thinking about several different subjects, all of them nagging her from the darkest corners of her mind.

For instance, when Jayfeather had awoken the previous night, he had immediately demanded to Bramblestar that he be allowed to go and visit Krestelflight; the WindClan medicine cat, and would explain to no one why. Dovewing had been asleep, so she hadn't been able to track him, and Ivypool didn't want to follow him, in fear of being caught.

Another thing that had been nagging at Ivypool was the Dark Forest. Ever since Tigerstar, Hawkfrost and Brokenstar's defeat, it had not once penetrated her dreams. Even if the three most important and in-command cats in the Place Of No Stars had been killed, there was still the other cats, just as there had been before Tigerstar had assumed leadership, such as Darkstripe, Mapleshade, Snowtuft or even Shredtail or Silverhawk.

Ivypool's thoughts were scattered as she returned to the camp, astonished to find it shrouded in tense, agitated silence. Huddled in random places around the camp were small groups of cats, all whispering intensely to one another, their tails bushed out in fright and their neck fur bristling.

"What's going on?" Ivypool padded over to where Berrynose, his mate Poppyfrost, Ivypool's sister Dovewing and Bumblestripe were standing idly around, casting nervous glances over to Bramblestar's den and the small groups of senior warriors.

"We don't know," Bumblestripe answered, twitching his nose as Sandstorm leaped up the tumbled rocks and onto Highledge. She stopped and swept her bright green gaze around the clan one last time before bounding into Bramblestar's den.

Ivypool cast a sharp, inquiring look at Dovewing. Surely if there was an important meeting, she would hear it? But Dovewing just shook her head, as if signifying that she didn't want to interfere on Bramblestar's meeting.

"Where are Lionblaze and Jayfeather?" Ivypool questioned, casting her gaze around the camp, searching for either a golden tabby pelt, or light gray striped fur. Poppyfrost shook her head.

"Don't know," she answered. "I think Jayfeather's with Bramblestar and Lionblaze in his den." Ivypool frowned. The Dark Forest was defeated. Why would the Three be needed? Well, actually, they weren't the Three unless they had the One with them. And Dovewing wasn't with them.

_Spoke too soon_. Ivypool thought contemptuously as Jayfeather poked his head from Bramblestar's den and called for Dovewing. The pale gray she-cat started as she heard her name and threw Jayfeather a bewildered glance. As if he could see her confusion, Jayfeather just rolled his sightless eyes and beckoned her with an impatient flick of his striped tail. Ivypool frowned at her as she passed swiftly, but Dovewing just shrugged and continued on toward her leader's den.

Squirrelflight, ThunderClan's new deputy, beckoned Ivypool over to her with a twitch of her ears.

"What's going on?" she asked, flicking her nose towards her mate's den. Ivypool shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she answered, frowning at the dark entrance where her sister had disappeared.

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	3. The Prophecy and The Code

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Chapter 2

"And that's when I woke up," Jayfeather finished the story of his dream and sat down again, wrapping his tail over his paws. He could feel them gazing intently at him, and his pelt grew hot and itchy under their intent stares.

"So…" Lionblaze began slowly, "StarClan is trying to send us a message, a prophecy…" Dovewing finished for him:

"But what does it mean?" Jayfeather could sense the pale gray she-cat was slightly miffed, she obviously was enjoying the importance her powers gave her, and this prophecy might make her less important. Jayfeather flexed his claws, subconsciously thinking the same thing, but refusing to acknowledge it. He reached out to Lionblaze's mind, wondering if his brother was having the same thoughts, but all he could sense was confusion and bewilderment.

"Does it have something to do with the Three?" Sandstorm asked. Jayfeather heard the swish of her tail through the air as she lashed it behind her. Jayfeather paused and flicked his ears at the pale orange she-cat. He hadn't thought of that.

"Perhaps…" he began slowly, "but I don't see why. I mean, if the Dark Forest had been beaten, why would the Three be needed?"

"Wait, hold on," Sandstorm interrupted him, confusion coming off her in waves. "How could you tell? How could you see the puddle?"

"Oh," Jayfeather felt his ears grow hot with embarrassment. "I can always see in my dreams," he explained, and he sensed confusion lift from both Bramblestar's and Sandstorm's minds.

"Anyway," Lionblaze interrupted. "Maybe this doesn't have anything to do with the Three." Jayfeather heard anxiety in his brother's mew. "Maybe this 'Lost One' is someone else, I mean, who knows?" Jayfeather nodded, silently agreeing with Lionblaze as he pondered the second part of the prophecy.

_The code shall fall and the world shall shatter as the shadows of the dead return once more. _What could _that_ mean?

"_The code shall fall and the world shall shatter…" _It was only when Lionblaze let out a small cough that Jayfeather realized he was repeating the prophecy aloud. The gray tabby looked up sharply, and felt all four of their gazes on his pelt. "I-I…sorry," he mewed, then quickly continued, "I was just thinking about that second part; '_the code shall fall and the world shall shatter as the shadows of the dead return once more.' _Is that referring to the Warrior Code?" Lionblaze shifted his paws across the sandy floor of Bramblestar's den.

"Well, it must be," Dovewing answered for the golden warrior, her tone determined. "What other code is important enough? I mean, there _is_ the medicine cat code, but that wouldn't be important enough to shatter the world." Jayfeather could sense that Sandstorm agreed with her, though Lionblaze and Bramblestar were a little less sure.

"I guess you could be right," Lionblaze said slowly, and Jayfeather could feel surety growing within him. Then, like a disease, it spread rapidly to Bramblestar and Jayfeather himself, and he was suddenly convinced that Dovewing was right.

"Yes," he agreed, nodding swiftly, "you must be right. The Warrior Code shall fall… how is that possible?" The other four cats fell into a tense silence, pondering this most unthinkable thought. Even when the Dark Forest battle had occurred, the Warrior Code had upheld and guided them through to victory. Surely nothing worse could happen that would destroy their way of life forever?

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	4. Hidden enemy

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Chapter 3

"Wait up, Squirrelflight!" Dovewing panted, forcing her legs to carry her faster until she reached the side of the fluffy ginger she-cat. Foxleap, Molepaw, Rosepetal and Cherrypaw, the other members of the patrol, were waiting by the lakeshore, their tails flicking impatiently and their jaws parted to drink in the air.

"Come on!" Cherrypaw bounced around in a circle, her ginger tail stuck straight up in the air. The patrol was to assess the two apprentice's skills, and if they were exceptional, Bramblestar would make them warriors at moonhigh. Molepaw paced beside his sister, just as impatient, but not as enthusiastic to show it.

Squirrelflight nodded to Cherrypaw. "No, you're right. We should get a move on. I want to get back to the hollow before the sun sets, so we can report to Bramblestar how well you did." The dark ginger she-cat seemed confident in the apprentices' abilities, Dovewing realized. She must have been expecting them to pass.

Hollyleaf dipped her head to the she-cat and meowed, "I thought we'd split up; I will go with Cherrypaw and Dovewing, and Squirrelflight, you will go with Icecloud and Molepaw." Dovewing shifted her paws across the leaf mold on the ground. She didn't care who she ended up with, she just wanted to get moving and warm herself up. With green-leaf fading and leaf-fall approaching, the forest was being slowly plunged into the coldness of the leaf-bare season.

"Alright," Squirrelflight's voice cut into Dovewing's thoughts, and the pale gray she-cat's fur bristled slightly as she felt a tail on her shoulder, then she relaxed as she realized it was only Hollyleaf, beckoning for her to follow. Dovewing smoothed down her ruffled fur once she caught Hollyleaf's curious gaze, and swiftly changed the subject.

"So, where are we going?" Dovewing asked, flicking her long, bushy tail. Hollyleaf eyed her for a moment longer, and then turned back to her apprentice, flicking her tail for Dovewing to join them. "I think we should try near the river, we might find a water vole or two." Cherrypaw bounced on her paws, pelt fluffing up in excitement.

"Okay!" the energetic apprentice dashed off without another word, before Hollyleaf could tell her to start. The black she-cat sighed, and started after her apprentice, calling back,

"Well, I guess we'd better follow her." Dovewing scampered after the older she-cat, her hind paws kicking up leaves as she skidded across the forest floor. After a while of hurtling through the forest, keeping as quiet as possible, Hollyleaf flicked her tail, motioning for Dovewing to stop and crouched down behind a blackberry bush, peering through the withering leaves. There, a few fox-lengths away, was Cherrypaw, positioned in the hunter's crouch, her eyes fixated on a water vole a few paw steps away. Dovewing watched as the ginger apprentice rocked her haunches back and forth before leaping, taking the mouse down with one swift bite to the neck. As the mentor and pale gray she-cat watched the ginger cat stand up and bury her prey, Dovewing's far-reaching senses picked up movement on the border, and an unfamiliar scent washed over her.

"Hollyleaf," she hissed in the she-cat's ear, fear stiffening every hair on her pelt. Hollyleaf turned her leaf-green eyes on the younger cat and whispered back in an evidently annoyed tone, "What?" while still keeping one eye on her apprentice.

"I can hear something…someone, on the border." Dovewing was reaching her senses as far as they would go, trying to detect something about the cat; fur, features, anything. But she got nothing.

"A cat?" Hollyleaf asked in a low voice, her black fur standing on end. An alarmed look seeped into her leafy eyes, and her tail stirred the leaves behind her.

"Yeah," Dovewing murmured, nodding. She furrowed her brow in concentration. "I can't sense anything else about them." Hollyleaf sighed.

"Then let's go," she mewed, standing up, with a last glance at Cherrypaw's retreating form. Dovewing blinked open her eyes.

"What?" she hissed, scrambling to her paws as Hollyleaf started to pad away. "What about Cherrypaw?" Hollyleaf didn't glance back once as she leaped over a fallen tree.

"She'll be fine," the black she-cat murmured, focusing on where she was placing her paws. "We'll find her right after we check this out."

"But…" Dovewing was forced to pause as she skittered over the log, panting from the effort. _Why can't I be tall like Hollyleaf…_ she thought grudgingly, nearly tripping over her own paws. "But what if the assessment's over once we get back?"

"Then we'll say we were checking out a scent we picked up, one not from the clans." Hollyleaf assured her, though she sounded uncertain herself. Dovewing blew out a sigh and picked up her pace, pulling up next to the older she-cat.

"There," Hollyleaf hissed. The two she-cats crouched down, shielding themselves with the dark green leaves of a blackberry bush. Standing outlined on the horizon, muzzle down and tail bushed up, was another cat, a female from the looks of it, sniffing at a fallen bramble thicket.

As if she heard the other cats, the stranger lifted her head sharply, her teeth baring in a snarl. Hollyleaf hissed softly and ducked down lower. Dovewing took the silent hint and pressed herself further against the ground.

It was then that she got a better look at the other cat. It was a slim silver tabby she-cat with rippling darker stripes and darker paws. Her eyes could easily be seen from this distance; they were an electric green, speckled with darker hints. Hollyleaf could say only one thing;

"Who is that?"

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**~xoxo WinglessAngel**


	5. Lurking evil

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Chapter 4

"How did they do?" Bramblestar padded over to where Squirrelflight, Icecloud, Rosepetal, Foxleap, Molepaw and Cherrypaw were trudging back into the camp. Each apprentice had several pieces of prey dangling from their jaws, and though they looked exhausted, they looked simultaneously proud.

"They did very well," Squirrelflight reported, her fluffy tail flicking. "But there is something I want to talk to you about." Bramblestar blinked at his deputy, clearly surprised, but she just shook her head and trotted off to his den.

The ThunderClan leader turned to the rest of the patrol, looking at them as if to ask what was going on. No one answered him. The apprentices placed their prey on the fresh-kill pile and scampered off, Rosepetal and Foxleap, the two mentors, walked off with their heads together, murmuring in hushed voices, and Icecloud ran off to Ferncloud, her mother.

Left without an option, Bramblestar turned and bounded up to his den, sliding into the darkness of the cave. Squirrelflight sat in the far corner, her tail curled over her paws and her green eyes anxious.

"What is it?" Bramblestar asked, settling himself into his mossy nest. Squirrelflight's eyes darted briefly to the entrance, as if she expected someone to come in and interrupt them. When no other feline face appeared in the entrance, she turned back to her leader.

"Around the middle of the assessment, or so we think, Hollyleaf and Dovewing disappeared from where they were watching Cherrypaw. We think they headed to the border – at least, that's where their scent trail led – but after that it just sort of…vanished." Bramblestar's head shot up and he eyed her confusedly.

"What do you mean, vanished?" he asked, his tail-tip flicking back and forth. Squirrelflight shifted her paws across the rough floor of the den.

"Well… once we reached the WindClan border, we couldn't find it. It disappears right near a rabbit warren." A flash of something – Squirrelflight couldn't really tell what – sparkled in Bramblestar's eyes briefly, but was gone a second later.

"Did you try the area around it?" he asked, feigning worry. He knew where they were. Well, most likely. Squirrelflight dipped her head to him.

"Briefly, yes. You must understand, we had to finish the assessment as well." Bramblestar nodded.

"Yes, I understand, thank you Squirrelflight."

"Where did she go?" Blackness pressed in on either side of Dovewing, shielding her view of Hollyleaf crouching in front of her. Earth and dirt showered her fur, making her shiver on contact.

"I don't know," Hollyleaf answered truthfully. The she-cat's green eyes glowed in the dark, and her black pelt made her seem like a ghost.

"I had her scent…" Dovewing trailed off, tasting the air again, her brow furrowing. Even with her far-reaching senses, she could pick up no trace of the mysterious she-cat in the tunnels.

"Are your senses blocked?" Hollyleaf asked her, shuffling around to face the younger cat. Dovewing shook her head.

"Not blocked, just…everything is muffled down here, and I _can _pick up a trace of the she-cat's scent, but I can't tell where it's coming from."

Hollyleaf gave a loud sigh. "Well, why don't we just try our luck? I know the way down here, and maybe I can get us to the dark river, and we can see if she's been there." Dovewing nodded.

"That seems like our best option right now…"

Cold, fresh air poured into the tunnel from the opening not but a few rabbit-hops away from the she-cat's front paws. Her whiskered twitched as a bird call sounded from the entrance to the outside world. Ears pinned to her skull, she wrapped her long tail over her small silver paws, sitting back on her haunches.

"I think I can smell…" Faint whisps of voices floated to her ears from the main cave, which housed the underground river that had drawn her here in the first place. She twitched the fur n her shoulders but didn't look back, she knew that their chance of finding her was slim to none.

Her exotic eyes never wavered from their fixated pinpoint; the yawning opening in the tunnel in front of her. They watched as a set of brown tabby paws walked on by, and as an overly-curious rabbit poked its nose into the tunnel.

She knew she shouldn't be there. She knew this was enemy territory. But she frankly didn't care. The stark truth was that the only reason she was there was _because _she shouldn't be there.

Without even twitching her tail-tip, she opened her mouth and gave an unseemly, unearthly wail. The two she-cats that had been tailing her gave yelps of alarm and she heard their claws skitter across the ground as they shot back up the tunnel they had come from.

Cilia rose to her paws and walked out of the tunnels, her head high and her gaze passive, like nothing had happened.

_My work here is far from over…_

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	6. Friend or Foe?

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.**

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Chapter 5

It was almost midnight when the she-cat finally found her way to the ThunderClan camp. Her normally silky silver coat, threaded with faintly darker stripes, was ruffled and coated with dirt; her large blue eyes wide and alert, constantly flicking over her shoulder. Her tail, low by the ground, left a shallow furrow in the leaf mould, and though her ears were pinned to her skull, they stayed alert for the slightest hint of noise.

As she neared the barrier to the camp entrance, she noticed with much surprise that there was no guard posted on lookout. Her eyes narrowed. This wasn't right. Would it – could it – ruin her plan?

_No_. Shoving those worrisome thoughts to the back of her mind, she straightened up, trying to appear less nervous than she really was. Pushing through the barrier as quietly as she could, she immediately pricked her ears, hoping – _praying_ – no one was awake at this late hour.

Unfortunately for her, one particular golden tabby tom with fiery amber eyes had decided it was a nice night for a moonlit walk. Lionblaze froze in the middle of the clearing, his mouth dropping open to yowl an alarm.

"Wait, wait!" She let out an impatient hiss, gesturing wildly with her tail. She took a hesitant step forward, into the ring of moonlight in the clearing, and immediately the tabby snapped his mouth shut, recognizing her.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, looking quickly around for anyone else who may have strayed out into the clearing. His eyes flashed. "You know anyone else would've immediately called Bramblestar out here, right?"

"I know, I know," she muttered irritably, turning her head to nip a burr off her silver pelt. "Then it's a good thing it was you out here, isn't it?" His eyes narrowed to slits at her aggravated tone. Though normally he would've questioned anyone else's motives, he knew he could trust her.

"Why are you here?" he repeated, though his tone softened considerably. Though her tail-tip flicked down a bit, and an incoherent grumble escaped her mouth, she responded with,

"I need to speak with Bramblestar."

Hollyleaf's eyes shut tight, as the annoying rattling sound filled her ears yet again. Her claws unsheathed, digging into a soft fronds of undergrowth beneath her paws.

"Dovewing!" she snapped, her eyes flying open to aim a glare at the younger she-cat. Dovewing's tail puffed up at the sudden voice, though once she met Hollyleaf's gaze, her ears lowered and she cast her eyes down, clawing at the leaves.

"Sor-ree," she muttered bad-temperedly. Both ThunderClan she-cats had been out and about all night, relentlessly trying to track down the she-cat they had encountered – or at least, they think they encountered – the previous sun high both at the border and in the tunnels.

Their lack of sleep had caused them both to be irritable and snappy, their tempers unusually short. Hollyleaf had been the first to snap, as the noise of Dovewing's long tail stirring the dry bramble spines above caused unbelievable annoyance in her.

Hollyleaf's response was simply a roll of the eyes as she returned her stare to their previous place, the WindClan border. It had seemed like the most likely place for the mystery cat to be, after all most of the underground tunnels wound under the moors.

But, even after moonhigh had long past, there had been no sign of her. Hollyleaf could feel her hope slipping rapidly out of her grasp. What if the she-cat had just been a temporary intruder?

A frown smuggled its way onto her face. Why did this mean so much to her? Why was she so bent on finding this she-cat? A voice in her head – right at the back of her mind – was telling her it had something to do with the meeting between Bramblestar, Sandstorm, Dovewing, Jayfeather and Lionblaze. The only problem was, when she had brought up to topic of the secret meeting in their leader's den with the gray cat, she had mumbled out an excuse about it, then had abruptly changed the subject, onto a much different focus.

Hollyleaf's rapid, confusing thoughts were interrupted and scattered wildly as a loud noise caught her attention. She sat up rod-straight, and as did Dovewing as the two peered out from their hiding place, under several different bushes grouped together.

A feline shape slid through the undergrowth, obvious urgency coming off their pelt in waves. Dovewing's jaw dropped a bit, as though there were words on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get them out.

"I-I didn't sense her," the small gray she-cat breathed, a troubled frown creasing her young face. "I was too deep in thought…" She shook her head vigorously, her ears flapping about her head. Hollyleaf, unable to recapture her train of thought, blew out a frustrated sigh and turned her attention back to the cat.

Her tail spiked, the fur on her shoulders standing on end as details – made visible by the watery moonlight – became distinct to her. A sleek silver pelt, large, bright eyes. Not much more registered before one thought exploded in her mind.

"It's her!" she hissed, scrambling to get her paws under her. Dovewing gave a small start, having to tuck her tail under her to prevent it rattling the bramble bush again. "It's the she-cat we saw!" By now, the cat was further in the heart of the territory, and Hollyleaf was unable to make out any more details.

"Are you sure?" Dovewing breathed, leaning forward a bit to peek out between the fern fronds tickling her nose.

"Silver tabby, bright eyes?" The words tumbled out in a rush as Hollyleaf started to carefully extract herself from the bushes.

"Well, I think so," Dovewing said slowly, pausing halfway out. "Or was she a gray tabby?" Hollyleaf stopped and stared weirdly at her.

"Who cares?" she muttered impatiently, shifting from paw to paw. "Hurry up! We'll lose her." After a brief spat with a bramble thorn, Dovewing had fully pulled herself from the bushes and was waiting for Hollyleaf to take the lead and follow the she-cat.

The two felines followed the evident wake the mystery cat left behind. She obviously wasn't from ThunderClan's territory, or else she would've been used to the close-growing trees and undergrowth.

"She's headed toward the camp," the younger murmured, her nose twitching in concentration as she reached her senses out toward the cat. "Wait, no, she's _at _camp." Alarm spiked in the gray cat's gaze. "There's someone else there…hold on…" Then she jumped up a bit, landing upright on her paws. She took off at a run, forcing Hollyleaf to sprint to catch up.

"What?" the midnight-colored she-cat panted, pumping her legs to keep up. "What did you see?"

"Lionblaze," Dovewing responded hurriedly as she dodged around a fern bush. "She's talking to Lionblaze. And he's not chasing her out."


End file.
